Flyers-Canadiens: Philadelphia Foiled Again, Lose To Habs, 3-1

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

The Philadelphia Flyers came off what was arguably their worst loss of the 2009-10 season Saturday night, an 8-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. So, how did the Flyers respond the next game? To coin a phrase, the Flyers “shit the bed” Monday night, losing 3-1 to the Montreal Canadiens and losing the respect of many fans in the process.

Having fired their head coach, John Stevens, on Saturday and coming off that ugly loss to Washington, the Flyers were poised to have a great effort. Instead, the Flyers came out and looked both disinterested and unorganized, leaving many Flyers fans feeling cheated and angry.

Peter Laviolette, Stevens’ replacement behind the bench, looks to have his work cut out for him with the Flyers. One of the most telling statistics from last night’s game was that the Flyers were only able to muster four shots in the first period, two in the third and 15 overall, not exactly the kind of “effort” you’d expect from a team that is currently marred in a five game losing streak and has gone a paltry 2-8-0 in their past 10 games.

The Flyers now sit in last place in the Atlantic Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference, and 27th overall, just two points ahead of the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that was the laughing stock of the NHL two weeks ago, but has now managed to turn things around, going 6-2-2 in their past 10 games.

Once again, the Flyers supposed “star players” failed to get anything going last night. Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, James Van Riemsdyk, Scott Hartnell, Chris Pronger, Matt Carle and Claude Giroux all netted zero points, leaving many fans wondering where all the offence has gone.

The Flyers have now scored just six goals in their past seven games and, from all accounts, look to be completely out of sync and out of confidence. Let’s face it, when a team can only muster 15 shots on goal there are big issues, especially when you consider the Canadiens are averaging 30.8 shots against per game on the season.

As I lamented to in yesterday's column, the cold hard reality for the Flyers is that December will be a make or break month for them. The Flyers, whether they like it or not, are fighting for their playoff lives and, from my view, I am not so sure about their chances right now.

What Laviolette needs to do is create some consistency within the lineup. Put together four lines, roll them out shift after shift, relentlessly, and ask the players to bring a workman-like effort to the rink.

Right now, the Flyers will take any win they can get. A puck off a players butt, a lucky bounce, a shoot-out win, whatever, they’ll take it. Clearly, team confidence is at an all-time low, something Laviolette and the leaders of this team will have to work hard to overcome.

Next up? The Flyers will host the New York Islanders tonight, coincidentally the team the Flyers got their last win against, albeit 13 days ago. The Islanders are having their own troubles of late, going 4-5-1 in their past ten games. The Islanders are a “beatable” team for the Flyers and, by all accounts, a must win if the Flyers intend on mopping up the blood from their five game losing streak.

Expect a very hostile/desperate crowd in Philly, the thrill is gone, many Flyers fans are steaming mad and if the Flyers come out with a four shot effort in tonight’s first period the players will be lucky to get out of the arena alive.

Somebody needs to take this team on his back and lead them back into contention. My money is on Veteran defenseman Chris Pronger to have a huge game, plastering a few players with his trademark big hits and providing the Flyers with some much needed moxie.

Whatever the case, one thing is for sure, the Flyers need this game badly, failure to win at Home tonight would be devastating and may cause management to consider making some roster changes, something many fans would endorse at this point.

In case you didn’t know, starting Dec. 5 Gabe Morency (formally of The Score ) will be launching his new website. Louis Pisano, my B/R counterpart, and I will be throwing down our Podcast “Get The Puck Out ” every Saturday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

The Live Podcast will be broadcast in studio from Toronto featuring some betting analysis, fantasy advice, trivia, team analysis, player updates, and more puck talk than you can imagine.

Be sure to call in and let your opinion be known. Check back with “Ritter’s Rant” on The Bleacher Report for further details and the call-in number. The inaugural show is set for Dec. 12. Don’t miss it, puckheads!

You can catch Morency (Monday through Friday) and “Get The Puck Out” (Saturday’s) at www.morencysports.com. To phone in, call 1-866-964-5710. SPORTS RAGE- it’s the “Evoluiton of the Rageulation".....

Until next time,

Peace!